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agree--neutral--disagree2009A50.6%38.7%10.7%0.0%0.0%2009B58.5%27.4%11.6%1.2%1.2%2010A55.9%31.8%10.5%1.4%0.5%2010B82.9%12.1%2.1%1.4%1.4%2011A71.4%21.6%5.2%0.5%1.4%2011B86.4%12.0%1.1%0.5%0.0%0.0%10.0%20.0%30.0%40.0%50.0%60.0%70.0%80.0%90.0%100.0%TThhee TTeeaacchheerr''ss LLeessssoonnss WWeerree UUsseeffuullTheTeacher'sLessonsWereUsefulFig.3:StudentPerceptionofTeachers'LessonsNaturally,correlationdoesnotequalcausation,andtherearelikelyotherfactorsatworktohelptoexplainthisincreaseinstudentsatisfaction,butitseemsreasonabletoassertthatanewfocusonteachertrainingandprofessionaldevelopmentshouldhaveapositiveimpactonthequalityofPASEOclassesandonstudentsatisfactionwiththem.Simplybyobservingpartofoneinstructor'sclasspersemester,theOPELTdirectorhasmoreinformationaboutwhathappensinPASEOclassesthanmanyprogramdirectorshaveaccessto.InOPELT,asisnotuncommoninsimilarprograms,simpleschedulingdifficultiesmakeitdifficult,ifnotimpossible,forthedirectortoobserveclassesduringtheterm.Thisopportunityforlessonobservation,combinedwithinformationfromthePASEOcourseevaluationquestionnaire,allowsthedirectortobeawareofanypotentialproblemswithlessonmanagementthatmayoccur.Inaddition,lessonobservationallowsthedirectortobeawareofclashesbetweenlessondesignandthePASEOcurriculum,allowingPASEOtomaintainitsuniformlyhighleveloflessonquality,andofproblemstudents,allowingthedirectorandallteacherstodiscussstrategiesfordealingwithdisruptivestudentsor,ifnecessary,alertingtheuniversityadministrationtooutstandingproblems.Finally,andmostimportantlyfromthedirector'spointofview,thepeer-ledlessonobservationsystemencouragesacollegiateandopenatmosphere,whereinstructorscananddoaskeachotheropenlyforadviceaboutteachingandareabletogivemeaningfulandhelpfulfeedback,withotherteachers'preferredtechniquesandteachingphilosophiesinmind.Particularlyinasmall,insulatedprogramsuchasOPELT,wheretheshorttenureofinstructorsmeansadissatisfiedteacherhaslittlereasontoremainwiththeprogram,maintainingaprofessional,openatmosphereisofcriticalimportance.Indeed,inthetwoyearssincethisprogramwasinstituted,thechangeinatmosphereatOPELThasbeenprofoundandpositive,thanksinnosmallpart,Ibelieve,tothisprogram.6OngoingResearchOngoingresearchintotheoutcomesofthislessonobservationsystemwillfocusonthefollowingareas.Whilemanyofthetheoreticalbenefitsofprogramssuchasthesearewell-supportedintheliterature,thebenefitstotheprogramasawholecanbeobservedbymyselfasdirectorofOPELT,andinformaltalkswithteachershaveshownsupportoftheprogram,itisnecessarytoverifytheclaimsIhaveputforthinthispaperinascientificmanner.ThefollowingdetailshowIamdoingso.―25―UsingVideoforTeacher-DrivenPeerObservation